Not Yet a Hurricane
by Solaryllis
Summary: It's harder than people realize to be the one left behind.  Gale's story of Katniss and Peeta's Hunger Games.  Gale POV, slight Gale/Madge.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Not Yet a Hurricane

Characters/Pairings: Gale, Madge, Everdeen family, Hawthorne family, Mayor Undersee, Mr. Mellark, etc. (Gale/Madge, Gale/Katniss, Katniss/Peeta)

Warnings: Same as the books

Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing in the sandbox

Rating: PG / Teen

Wordcount: ~18,000

Spoilers: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire

Summary: It's harder than people realize to be the one left behind. Gale's story of Katniss and Peeta's Hunger Games. Gale POV, slight Gale/Madge.

Author Notes: I had to write this to fill in the gaps for my own curiosity about what was happening back in District 12 during the 74th Hunger Games. It's also my attempt to better understand Gale, as seen through a Gale/Madge filter.

1

Gale copes at first by hunting more frequently. After the shock of Prim being selected and Katniss volunteering in her place at the reaping, and then the hurried good-byes at the Justice Center, he has a hard time adjusting to even the idea of Katniss even being in the Capitol let alone the reality of probably dying there. He notices her absence most acutely in the forest and tries to pretend it's like when she had that tenacious cold last winter and couldn't leave the house for a week, but it doesn't work. Still, at least hunting keeps him busy.

His thoughts shift wildly between despair that she has only days left to live, and on the other end of the spectrum, cautious hopefulness that maybe, if the arena's conditions are just right and she can get a bow and arrow, just maybe she'll make it home. The Opening Ceremony gave him a brief shot of optimism because her costume attracted such a strong response from the Capitol spectators – that's got to be good for sponsorship prospects, isn't it?

He also spends more time hunting because he has more mouths to provide for, and frankly would rather be in the woods than in town or the Seam, where he gets nothing but pitying looks. Everyone knows he and Katniss are friends, and probably suspects they're more than friends or will get married at some point, but he can't endure the looks and prefers to spend his afternoons with animals and trees. The trees don't have eyes and if the animals look at him the wrong way, he can shoot them.

* * *

He's dropping off some game for the Everdeens when the Gamemakers' scores of the tributes are televised. Peeta gets an impressive score - in the range of what the Careers get and higher any previous District 12 tribute Gale can recall. Gale hadn't been legitimately concerned about Peeta as a threat until that moment, but he's distracted with second thoughts until Katniss' eleven flashes on the screen. Mrs. Everdeen gasps and Prim squeals.

"Eleven!" Prim looks at Gale, who's leaning uncomfortably against the front door. "She really might come home to us?" She looks so hopeful.

Gale feels elevated by Katniss' score, and nods abruptly. "She's Katniss," he says by way of explanation, and then leaves before the announcers can dissect all the scores. There's no hope of catching a glimpse of her today on the screen anyway, and the commentary always makes him want to throttle someone.

He walks to the Hob to do some trading, where he overhears some of the men modifying their bets on Katniss.

"Twenty that she'll outlast Mellark," Staro says, handing a man in a grey shirt a piece of paper.

"Thirty for me," another man says.

Before he's even aware of what he's doing, Gale slams the first two men into the wall with a snarl. "How _dare_ you?"

Staro, who's much larger than Gale, roughly pushes back, sending Gale stumbling and his game bag onto the ground. "Mind your own business, Hawthorne."

Several of the other people who'd been waiting to adjust their odds or place bets watch Gale uncomfortably. If a real fight breaks out, the Peacekeepers will feel like they should shut down the Hob, which hurts everyone. They glare at him; Gale knows this as well as they do.

"You _know_ her," he seethes. "You should be taking up a collection for sponsorship, not betting." He makes sure to look each person in the eye so they can feel the full effect of his rage. Once he sees some of the men avert their eyes and shift uncomfortably, he knows he's had an impact. He angrily picks up his bag and pushes his way out of the Hob, unwilling to do any trading. He stays up late that night smoking the leftover game that he should have traded, and if the smoke irritates his eyes a little, well, that's only to be expected isn't it?

* * *

The interviews are being aired the next day as mandatory viewing, and the government is requiring the Everdeens and Mellarks to watch on the large screen in the town square so Gale goes to watch there, too. The screen dominates the eastern side of the town square, and is surrounded by rows and rows of folding chairs. Gale consciously sits away from his family and his friends from school. The only people he could fathom sitting by for this experience are the Everdeens, but they're with the Mellarks in the reserved section in the front.

The mayor signals for the screen to be activated, then settles into his official seat with his staff. On screen, Gale sees Katniss and Peeta enter the stadium, standing out from the other tributes much like on the night of the opening ceremony. Katniss' skin has gold dust all over it so she looks like she's glowing. The effect is spectacular, but it makes Gale ill to think what they're doing to his Katniss: dressing her up for the slaughter. How can anyone see this as something to cheer? At least no one in District 12 is buying into the hype; people in the town square are watching as sullenly as if it were a funeral procession.

Tributes are still filing into their seats on the stage when the mayor's daughter Madge slips into the empty seat next to Gale. He's annoyed she's breaking the unwritten rule to leave him the hell alone and doesn't acknowledge her. Just because she and Katniss eat lunch together and because he unwisely let her cut in on some of his good-bye time with Katniss after the reaping doesn't mean he needs to be nice to her.

Madge either doesn't pick up on or ignores his hostility. Watching the screen instead of Gale, she says during a lull in the broadcast, "We're all contributing money to sponsor Katniss and Peeta."

Good. It's the least the wealthy people in town can do. He doesn't feel the need to congratulate her on what is obviously self-satisfied righteousness by people who should be doing more _all the time_.

Madge continues. "My mother's been talking to Haymitch Abernathy and he thinks if we can raise 400 we could send them some bread. Or medicine. Or, I guess it depends on what they might need…" She trails off, evidently thinking of all the possible necessities their survival could depend on.

He isn't sure what kind of response she's expecting. He doesn't trust himself to say anything that won't sound too bitter or suggest that every one of these people in town should sell their homes and possessions so they can give Katniss the best advantages any tribute has ever received. Instead, he makes a noncommittal noise and keeps watching the screen. The female tribute from District 4 is answering the host's questions but all Gale can see is a mental image of this girl chasing Katniss with a spear. There were a lot of spears in the arena last year, so maybe the weapon of choice this year will be something even nastier…

"I was thinking," Madge says hesitantly later during the transition between the tributes from 6 and 7, "that people from the Seam might want to contribute, too. In whatever way they can - I know people love Katniss everywhere. The sponsorship should be on behalf of all of District 12."

Gale starts to say that people in the Seam can barely feed themselves so how could they squeeze any extra money out of their purses, but he knows Madge is aware of this as well and recognizes that she's making an overture about district unity. He looks at her for the first time. She's classic Town, with the same blond locks and softness evident in Peeta Mellark. But she's Katniss' friend and probably knows Peeta pretty well, too, so Gale begrudgingly appreciates her attempt to not let the Hunger Games create an even greater rift between town and the Seam. And he certainly understands the need to do _something_, no matter how small it may seem.

"That's a good idea," he finally says, and thinks that Madge seems relieved he didn't bite her head off.

"The idea made its way to me via the Hob last night…" she says, smiling slightly. Gale assumes she means to imply that she heard of his confrontation with the gamblers the previous evening, and wonders vaguely who she knows who frequents the Hob. She seems like the type to avoid even walking past it.

He shifts his full attention back to the screen, torn between wanting to know the possible tactics of the people who will start trying to kill Katniss tomorrow and thinking it doesn't matter what he does or doesn't know since he's stuck here watching the Games on a screen.

Some of the tributes leave little room for imagination that they will transform into killers in the arena, while others just seem like kids at school or around the Seam. Emphasis on "kids." The little girl from District 11, for example, barely seems old enough to have qualified for a reaping.

Then Katniss is on the screen. Despite all the decorations and trappings, she's still the same beautiful Katniss he knows. The Capitol stylists managed to make her extravagant but still herself, and Gale can barely breathe as she answers inane questions about the food in the Capitol and shows off her dress. Her strategy seems to be to play along with the farce of glorifying the tributes, and he can't fault her for that. He even smiles at the thought of her enjoying all the rich meals. Prisoners do get whatever they want as a last meal, don't they?

Katniss' time on the screen passes too quickly. Three minutes is all he'll see of her until she goes into the arena, and once she's there how much time she gets depends on… He can't think it.

"She looks beautiful," Madge says in a soft, sad tone.

Gale forgot she was still sitting next to him. "Yeah," he finally agrees in a whisper. Because it's true. Madge smiles sadly at Gale, but he just turns his attention back to the screen for Peeta's interview.

Never in a hundred years would Gale have speculated that Peeta Mellark could have such crowd-pleasing skills. Actually, Gale realizes he doesn't know much about Peeta in general; he's just the good-natured youngest son of the baker. In comparison to his older brothers, he always seemed gentler, although Gale vaguely remembers that all of the Mellark boys tended to do well in the school wrestling competitions. Gale thinks to himself that Peeta is probably giving Katniss a run for the sponsorship money with his charming demeanor and anecdotes, when the interviewer starts asking him about girls back in District 12 and he reveals having a crush. Gale wonders idly if Madge is the girl in question - they're the same age and surely know one another. Maybe that's another reason why she's so keen on organizing a collection.

But then Peeta drops the bomb: that he's been nursing an unrequited crush on _Katniss_. Gale feels his eyes widening in shock, and the District 12 audience, equally surprised, starts whispering. The interviewer is probing for more details and the camera shifts to Katniss, awkwardly staring at her lap and blushing fiercely. Peeta says Katniss didn't know until this very second, and Katniss' reaction seems to confirm that: she appears to be caught totally off guard and uncomfortable.

What kind of game is Peeta playing? Gale never would have expected the baker's youngest son to develop a strategy like this… Like what, though? What is he trying to do? Peeta clearly "won" the interviews - the crowd in the Capitol went crazy after his announcement and he'll surely dominate the post-interview analysis. So that's good for sponsorship but what about in the arena…? Most importantly, how does whatever strategy this is affect Katniss? Is he trying to lull her into a false sense of security? She'd never fall for that; if that's the strategy it's bound to fail.

Gale belatedly realizes that many of the District 12 audience are turning around to gauge his own reaction to this news. He stares blankly at a few people in return and then feels the urgent need to get out of the town square as quickly as possible.

As soon as they're released from the viewing, Gale darts out to the street and cuts over to one of the alleys so he can think to himself. He doesn't even notice his name being called until he's a block away.

Madge is running behind him. "You're fast," she huffs as she stops a few feet from him.

"What do you want?" He snaps.

She doesn't seem phased in the slightest at his rudeness. "The collection? Can you talk to people in the Seam and see what kind of response we get?"

"'Response' and 'actual money' aren't necessarily related," he says, annoyed at her euphemism. "But, yeah, I'll ask people."

Madge nods approvingly. "Once we have the total amount, my mother can get in touch with Haymitch Abernathy about buying a sponsorship."

Gale suddenly feels a wave of nausea. The sponsorship just makes it seem even more real that Katniss really is going to be in the arena, fighting for her life, starting tomorrow morning. Who knows what conditions or monsters she'll be facing, or what tricks the other tributes have up their sleeves…

"Do you know Mellark very well?" He blurts out his question to Madge before having a chance to consider it. He doesn't want to be conversing with this girl, but maybe she does have some kind of insight into Peeta's crazy strategy. Not knowing is driving Gale crazy.

"Sort of," she says. "But I don't really spend much time with the other kids…" Gale realizes this is true; he's only ever seen her with Katniss at school and otherwise she seems to spend a lot of time in her family's large house. There must be so many rooms she can change her scenery by just walking a few feet.

"Do you know what his strategy might be?"

Madge thinks for a moment and then shakes her head. "Getting sponsors?"

"Clearly. But what angle is he going after with Katniss? Could he be trying to trick her somehow?"

Madge mulls the question for several moments, during which Gale, whose mind is bombarded with suspicious theories, starts wondering on his own how Katniss is reacting. If she's trying to figure out Mellark's strategy the same way Gale is. Or if she knows already… She and Mellark were friendly and, weirdly, holding hands during the Opening Ceremony - is this part of a bigger strategy? But she seemed surprised by Peeta's announcement. As well as Gale knows Katniss, he finds himself unable to predict how she might respond to news of a surprise crush. Even if it's a fake crush. She's always seemed so uncomfortable and disinterested in that type of thing. Unless it's something she's in on, chances are she'll be suspicious and disregard it as a secondary issue to her concerns of claiming supplies and avoiding death at the Cornucopia tomorrow morning.

"I guess there's always the possibility that he really does like her and is trying to help her," Madge offers. But she doesn't sound very confident in her theory and Gale dismisses it as well.

"They barely know each other and are supposed to start trying to kill each other tomorrow. I can't imagine he'd try to help her." Gale knows _he_ would, but what good is he when he's in District 12 and Katniss has to go to the arena tomorrow?

"Well…" Madge says, searching for an explanation. "It sure was a hit with the Capitol crowds. It adds extra drama…"

Gale is silent for a few minutes, mulling the possible explanations. He doesn't know why he can't let this go; his analyzing of the potential strategic implications to Katniss has no actual effect on the Games. Like everyone except for the 24 tributes and the Gamemakers, he's nothing but a spectator. Nothing he says or thinks or theorizes about makes any difference at all in the outcome. He turns around and kicks the wall of the building he's standing next to, sending a cloud of soot particles into the air.

Madge clears her throat. "I'm sure Katniss won't fall for any tricks. If there are any. I can't say that I think Peeta would try anything underhanded."

Gale is less confident in that, not knowing Peeta very well. And even if he did, there's no predicting how someone will react when faced with imminent death in the arena. Peeta could be a deadly killing machine for all Gale knows, and maybe even for all Peeta himself knows. But Gale trusts Katniss won't let her guard down. It's the only buoyant thought in his head, flooded with worries.

He mumbles that he needs to get home to check on his family and leaves Madge in the alley.

Back in the Seam he mentions the collection to everyone he encounters and most people find at least a few coins. He knows that even a small amount means a skipped meal, but everyone he asks willingly gives for Katniss' sake. It all makes him angrier than ever that the Capitol keeps them so close to the edge of survival that a few coins matter as much as they do. The people in town will be able to give much more, but won't be as harmed to part with a few coins. On the other hand, as a percentage of their assets, the people in the Seam are giving hugely… He thanks everyone sincerely and reassures them that Katniss can make it home. He needs to keep saying it aloud to remind himself.


	2. Chapter 2

2

There's only a half day of school on the first arena day. The kick-off is at 10 am, and with the time zone difference from District 12 that means they can still attend school in the morning and make it to the town square for the mandatory viewing in the afternoon. But Gale skips class anyway in order to continue to take up the collection from Seam residents.

Before the broadcast begins, he finds Mrs. Everdeen and Prim in the square, already in their seats and trying to avoid talking to anyone. He loathes false reassurances and doesn't offer any. Instead, he says what he knows to be true. "Katniss has a real chance of making it home."

Prim makes a choking sound. "But the Cornucopia…"

"Yeah, it's risky," Gale says, taking the empty seat next to her. "But she knows that and will have planned her strategy around it."

"Gale," Mrs. Everdeen says, finally looking at him, "Do you want to sit with us up here?"

He sees how shaky Mrs. Everdeen's composure is and remembers what Katniss has hinted at about her mother's ability to cope with tragedy and quickly agrees. Whatever kind of stabilizing reassurance he can provide he will gladly give. Prim reaches over and takes his hand, and he's struck once again by how small she is and what a disaster it would have been for her to be the one in the arena. Katniss made the right decision.

The pre-show starts, when the announcers reveal the features of the arena and describe some of the challenges the contestants may face. Gale is relieved to see how wooded it is and whispers to Prim when no one can overhear that the forested terrain is a huge advantage to her sister.

Then, before he's quite ready to see it, the tributes are deposited around the Cornucopia and the timer starts. He wants to scream at the camera whenever it strays from Katniss - he doesn't want to see the other tributes, just her. He needs to gauge what she's thinking and what she's planning. Right before the buzzer goes off he sees her make eye contact with Mellark and then hesitate, as if she's reconsidering what to do, and Gale decides in that instant that Mellark is up to no good, distracting Katniss at a crucial moment. She's nearly killed twice before she succeeds in securing an orange backpack and putting some meaningful distance between herself and the Cornucopia.

Prim squeaks - he's squeezing her hand too hard - so he releases her and she leans into her mother. Gale sees that Mrs. Everdeen isn't watching - she's averted her eyes slightly to the side so the Peacekeepers won't be able to tell, but she's not actually watching the screen. She isn't reacting to any of the killings, either, so he suspects she's figured out some way to tune it all out now that Katniss is safely away from the bloodbath. The only signs that she's conscious are her very regular breathing and her arm encircling Prim so tightly Prim's sleeve is askew.

The Cornucopia is as awful as ever. Several tributes have died already or are in the process of being killed. Kids without any fighting or survival skills who fell for the lure of supplies in the Cornucopia, only to be easily eliminated by the Career tributes.

Surprisingly, Mellark is still there. He started out a little disoriented, distracted by trying to follow what Katniss was doing, and nearly missed defending himself against another tribute. But he was able to deflect a kid with a spear and then was drawn into a knife fight with another tribute. He's a much better fighter than Gale would have guessed, and actually comes out of it alive, though injured. A group of his friends sitting a few rows behind Gale and the Everdeens cheer whenever Peeta eludes an attacker.

The truly shocking development is when Peeta joins the alliance of Career tributes, admitting to them that his love confession was a strategy to disarm Katniss. Gale seethes, having suspected this very possibility. When Peeta tells the Careers he'll be able to lure Katniss out of her eventual hiding place, Gale can't stand it any longer and starts to consider how he could break out of District 12 and into the Games arena to personally kill this blond devil. It occurs to him that every single other tribute is out to kill Katniss as well; that's how the Hunger Games are played. But there's something that doesn't sit right about Mellark's betrayal; it's more personal in light of his supposed love confession. Plus, this Mellark kid is going against that 'tribute code' that tributes from the same district shouldn't go out of their way to kill one another. His active deception and the fact that he so convincingly hid his inner capacity for violence makes him seem all the more ruthless.

After the cannons signal the end of the battle at the Cornucopia, the District 12 residents are released from the mandatory viewing. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim want to get out of the crowd's view as quickly as possible, so Gale walks them home. He reassures Prim that Katniss is safe for now; that backpack she won will surely help her stay alive for a few days, as long as she can find water and stay away from the more murderous tributes.

"I can't believe Peeta would turn on her," Prim says mournfully.

"He seemed so heartfelt during the interviews," Mrs. Everdeen says.

Gale grimaces. "It's the Hunger Games. Every person for himself."

They walk the remainder of the way to the Seam in silence. Gale returns to his own home to check on his family and realizes he has enough time to check his snares. He catches a few rabbits and hopes Katniss is having similar luck with whatever hunting she can squeeze in.

After dropping some of the rabbits off with his mother and the Everdeens, Gale wanders into town. He doesn't have anything to trade at the Hob, but he doesn't want to sit in the house. It isn't until he sees the lights in the mayor's house that he remembers he was supposed to give Madge the money from the Seam residents for the sponsorship collection. Well, screw that. No way is Gale parting with any of the Seam's treasured coins until he's guaranteed it will only help Katniss, not Mellark.

As Gale is standing outside the mayor's dwelling, glaring at the shadows, the door opens and Madge slips out onto the porch. She walks down the stairs toward him; she must have been looking out the windows at the town square and spotted him.

Gale scowls at her. "I got money. But I'm not turning any over until I'm sure it won't go toward Mellark."

Madge looks at him and nods slightly in agreement. "I guess we could split it, or designate it as only being for one of them - it's possible - when I collected from people in town I said it was for both of them."

"He's going to help them _hunt_ her - nobody here other than maybe his family would want to contribute to that." Gale feels like he's choking on the words, they're so awful.

"Maybe he's trying to lead the Careers astray," she suggests.

Gale snorts. "Don't be naive. It's a fight to the death. He needs every advantage he can get against her."

Madge frowns. "It doesn't seem like Peeta…" She trails off, lost in her thoughts for a few moments. Finally she looks up at Gale. "Let's see what happens tomorrow. The way things are going, Peeta has all the supplies he needs and Katniss looks like she'll be all right as long as she can find water. I don't think there's as much of a need for sponsor gifts yet."

The front door to Madge's house opens, leaking a beam of yellow light onto Madge and Gale in the street. "Madge," the mayor calls, "your friend is on the broadcast again."

Madge gestures for Gale to come inside with her. As much as his inclination is to march off in a hostile rage because she doesn't hate Mellark as much as Gale knows the kid deserves, he needs to see what's happening to Katniss in the arena. He and Madge both take the stairs two at a time and skid into the living room. Gale nods to the mayor in greeting before perching on a chair on the side of the room, away from Madge and her father.

There's an image of Katniss setting up some snares, which is so familiar it makes Gale ache, and then she's figuring out how to secure herself into a sleeping bag in a tree. The screen cuts away to an animated map, which the announcer uses to show how far Katniss is from the Cornucopia, and where she is in proximity to the other tributes. The screen then flips to the Careers, whose loot includes night vision goggles and flashlights, in addition to ample quantities of food and medical supplies. The Careers are setting out on a nighttime hunting trip and the announcers are assuring viewers that they can continue to find 24-7 coverage of the 74th Annual Hunger Games right here on this very channel. Then there's a break for commercials before the nightly death toll recap.

Before Gale realizes what's happened, Madge and the mayor have invited him to stay through the recap and Madge is getting glasses of water from the kitchen, leaving him with Mayor Undersee. Gale is not talkative under the best of circumstances, and certainly not now.

Luckily the mayor leaves him alone, letting Gale watch the commercials while he flips through a newspaper. Gale can't stand the commercials, though, and instead inspects the Undersees' home, which he's only ever seen before from glances through the back door when he and Katniss sell whatever delicacies they've come across in the woods. He can't imagine having this much space for only three people.

Madge returns after a few minutes with a tray holding a water pitcher, glasses, and some thin crackers. She reports that Lulu has gone home, and Gale realizes that Vick's best friend's mother is the Undersees' maid.

"Help yourself, son," the mayor says, setting down his paper and absently reaching for a cracker as the program resumes.

Gale is suspicious and eyes the tray warily. Why is the mayor sharing food? Madge puts a cracker into Gale's hands before he can protest.

He starts to feel sick during the recap - it's disturbing to see footage of the dead tributes - and doesn't take any more crackers. He appreciates not having to make conversation with Madge or the Mayor, who watch the screen solemnly. Gale wonders where Mrs. Undersee is, and remembers seeing her wincing during the mandatory viewing earlier that day. Maybe she can't handle the gore and awfulness of the Games and went to bed already. He doesn't blame her.

When the recap ends, the mayor turns the volume down on the television. Gale stands to leave and is in the process of thanking Madge and the mayor for letting him watch with them, when the mayor leans over and gives Gale what is clearly intended to be reassuring pat on the shoulder. "She's a tough one," he says. "I haven't been this hopeful about our district's chances in a long time."

Gale nods, unsure how to respond to this somewhat awkward exchange. He isn't sure how to be on the receiving end of reassurances and feels a strange tightness in his throat. But he swallows it as he remembers the mayor is complicit with the Capitol in the reaping ceremony, and suddenly he can't stand to be in the house any longer. He mumbles a good bye and heads down the stairs before he says or does anything he might regret.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Gale wakes up early the next morning and quietly turns the television on at a low volume while he heats some water for tea. He barely slept at all, thinking about the pack of Careers hunting at night with their night vision goggles. He won't be able to think about anything else until he knows for sure. The morning announcers are describing the nighttime death of a tribute at the hand of the Career pack, some fool who had no supplies and started a fire in the middle of the night.

Gale busies himself with his tea until he hears Katniss' name. The fool with the fire was right below Katniss, and then the filmmakers play the scene for the audience's benefit, shifting to Katniss every so often to keep the suspense alive.

Mellark is part of the Career pack and Gale finds himself gripping the table in anger so tightly his fingers start to hurt. Gale's mother and Posy wake up while Mellark is looming with a knife over the fire girl, who's slowly dying of a stomach wound. She's making terrible sounds like a cross between crying and moaning, clutching her gushing wound. Mellark makes no attempt to hide his anguished expression and leans down to whisper something to the girl.

Gale is so focused on the screen he barely notices his mother signaling that she's taking Posy outside - the four-year old is too young to be exposed to this. Mellark is still leaning over the girl and nodding stiffly as she pleads with him to finish her off quickly. Gale thinks it would be a mercy at this point; there's no recovering from her wounds, which will just kill her slowly. Evidently Mellark agrees because he reaches for his knife, which he had dropped upon initially approaching the girl. He's speaking softly to her again - too low for the cameras to pick up - and then delivers the final, merciful stab. He holds the girl until the life seeps out of her and remains immobile until the firing of the cannons jars him out of his trance. He unsteadily stands up, wipes the knife off, and rubs his face so the tear streaks aren't as obvious.

The Career group leaves the area near Katniss and one camera follows them, while another stays on Katniss, who waits a safe amount of time and seems relatively unphased. Gale knows how good she is at hiding her emotions, so he still can't tell if she was surprised at discovering Mellark is with the Careers or not. As he watches Katniss check her snares and cook a rabbit on the dying embers of the dead girl's fire, he entertains the idea that Mellark is faking an alliance with the Careers… Not that that changes much; even if an alliance helps Mellark last longer in the arena, that will just mean an increased likelihood of Katniss having to kill him in the final stages of competition…

* * *

A television plays a live feed from the Games in the courtyard of the school, and Gale checks it throughout the day but not much is happening. The tributes who hid are largely succeeding at staying hidden - aside from the girl who started a fire - and attempting to keep themselves alive in the forest. Gale is getting concerned at Katniss' dehydration. The announcers are driving him crazy, pointing on the map how close she is to a water source but not finding it. He can tell she's losing it - she stumbles more often and is wearing a glazed expression.

The Careers have no such problems, having set up their camp near the lake and hoarding all the food and supplies. They keep probing Mellark for insights into Katniss' strategy and secret skills - the leader of the group, in particular, can't get over the fact that she outscored him. Gale isn't sure if Mellark's vague answers are based on his own lack of knowledge or a hidden agenda to protect Katniss. But he never mentions how good a hunter Katniss is, for example, he just says she's good at identifying plants to eat.

By the following morning, Gale is so worried about Katniss' need for water that he seeks out Madge first thing at school and asks if she can send their sponsorship money to Katniss, who clearly needs help more than Mellark at this point - can't they get her some water?

"I had my mom call and ask Haymitch last night," Madge says. "He says the situation is under control."

Clearly it isn't! "She can barely walk. How is that under control?"

"He says he has the final say on what gifts are sent and when and to who."

"Then what the hell is the point?"

Gale storms away, unable to stand such uselessness while Katniss dies of thirst. He skips the rest of his classes and disappears under the fence into the woods, hoping a pack of wild dogs will attack him so he can shoot one.

When he returns to his house, Rory is glued to the television. Gale almost snaps at him to turn it off, until he sees images of Katniss by a lake, purifying water, eating, and getting her supplies organized. He slumps in relief and drops the game on the floor. She found water.

"Just in time," Rory says. "She passed out in a puddle just a few feet from the pond, but woke up and filtered some water. Close call."

The screen shifts to another tribute, struggling ineptly to skin a rabbit, so Gale leans down to collect the fruits of his labor. He's so relieved Katniss won't die of thirst he allows himself to take a drink of water for the first time that day, not having realized he was unconsciously putting himself through sympathy dehydration.

* * *

The firestorm is all over the televisions the next morning. Apparently the Gamemakers felt the need to force the tributes into altercations. No one at school, teachers included, even pretends to do anything but watch the broadcast of the Games.

Katniss very nearly doesn't make it out from the fire, still weak from deyhdration. She gets badly burned and takes refuge in a tree, which leaves her trapped by the Careers and Mellark.

Gale ends up at the Everdeen home that night - he won't be able to sleep and knows they won't either. They keep vigil with Katniss in the tree, each privately concerned these will be the last hours they can ever spend with her. Gale feels a flicker of hope when he realizes she has a plan to use the tracker jacker nest as an escape strategy. He still can't figure out Mellark, who stays awake all night at the base of Katniss' tree, looking up into the branches with night vision goggles periodically. The broadcast analysts are salivating at the possibility of him killing her or her killing him; they report record numbers of bets being placed at the Capitol's gambling parlors.

All hell breaks loose in the morning when Katniss drops the tracker jacker nest on the Careers. Gale is torn when he sees her stumble back to the tree's base to relieve the dying Career girl of the bow and arrow; Katniss unquestionably needs the weapon, but it's risky given her state and the proximity of so many Careers.

Sure enough, two of them come back as Katniss is drunkenly trying to grasp the bow and arrows. Mellark gets there first and does what Gale wants to do: yells at Katniss to GET OUT OF THERE. Katniss stumbles away with the bow and arrow while Mellark fights off the most vicious of the Careers, a psychopath named Cato. Mellark receives what looks to be like a fatal wound to his leg, and then the tracker jacker poison starts to take hold and all the affected tributes lose touch with reality, stumbling and barely coherent. Katniss ends up in a hole, Mellark drags himself away, and the others collapse wherever they happen to be.

Gale feels like he's empty by the time it becomes clear that the Gamemakers are going to let the tributes sleep off the tracker jacker poison. He makes his way back to his own house to sleep, but is besieged by images of Katniss falling out of trees, being hacked to pieces, and being chased by flames and wasps. He's not at all rested by the time he stops pretending he can sleep and leaves the house to go hunting.

* * *

When he winds up in town the following afternoon on an errand for his mother, Madge finds him and he starts to wonder if she has a tracking device on him.

"Now can we send in the sponsorship money?" She isn't one for greetings.

Gale considers. Mellark probably won't last much longer, with the number of stings he suffered and the severity of his leg wound. But Katniss will probably recover and could use the help. At the very least, even if a gift is split between the two of them, Mellark proved himself to not be a traitor.

"Let's do it," Gale agrees. He walks with Madge back to her house, where they sit at the kitchen table and tally the total amount they have. The people in town were indeed generous: it's more money than Gale has ever seen in one place.

Madge announces the total and smiles at Gale. She has a pleasant smile… Probably because she's had such an easy life.

"My mom can phone Haymitch this afternoon to arrange for a wire transfer," Madge says. "Should we put in a request for something specific? I fully expect him to ignore it, but it never hurts to ask, does it?"

Gale thinks about the fact that Katniss has a bow and arrow now, burn medicine to help her burned leg recover, and food and water. "Bread, I guess, since they can't catch it in the woods."

Madge pauses. "How about medicine?"

Gale frowns - Katniss already has burn medicine. "Something for the wasp poison?"

"I was thinking more like anti-infection medication… Have you seen Peeta's wound? He's in bad shape."

Gale has, and thinks it's unlikely that Peeta will survive to make much use of medicine. He just wants to get the money to Haymitch, though, not squabble with Madge about how it's used - and it's not like Haymitch cares what they want anyway.

"Let's just send it and let Haymitch decide," he says, with what he hopes is a diplomatic tone. To Gale's thinking, Katniss is the favored competitor at this point - has been since the beginning, actually - and Haymitch undoubtedly realizes that. If Madge wants to think their gift will help Mellark, fine.

Madge pushes her chair back suddenly, eyes flaring with anger. "He sacrificed himself for her. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"What good is it for us to talk about this?" Gale asks, angry as well. "We can send this money, and maybe, _possibly_, it will help one of them or both, but we have no control over that. Just like we have no control over anything associated with any of this!"

"I know!" Madge shouts. Then she looks around cautiously and Gale realizes neither of them should be saying the things they're saying, especially not in the mayor's house where there are usually either household staff or his office staff milling around. Madge clamps her mouth shut and seethes in Gale's direction for a few moments. Then she exhales violently and says, still in an angry tone, "I'll let you know when my mother has gotten through to Haymitch. And what happens."

"Great." Gale is already moving toward the door. As he leaves, he's relieved to see on the large screen on the town square that nothing dramatic is happening in the arena. The screen is split into several squares, and one shows that Katniss is still passed out recovering from the venom. He suspects the Gamemakers will let the tracker jacker victims recuperate without further threat; killing someone while they're unconscious isn't exciting entertainment.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate them. This is my first fanfic and I pretty much wrote it for my own entertainment, but it's very cool to know others might be getting some enjoyment out of it, too! So you know, this story is 8 parts long and is finished... I'll be posting as I get each part "prettied up." I'm also working on a continuation of this story set during Catching Fire, but doesn't follow the book as slavishly so it's a little more creative (though I still stick to canon as much as possible). Enjoy!

4

Gale is at the Everdeens' house the next day after school, where Mrs. Everdeen is showing him which herbs she needs replenished. They all feel slightly more relaxed: Katniss woke up from the tracker jacker haze and fixed herself up. The television is on in the background in case something happens, but for now Katniss looks like she's in relatively good shape.

Much better than the Careers and Mellark. Two of the Careers died in the tracker jacker attack, and Mellark - Peeta - isn't looking so hot. The camera shows him occasionally, but he isn't doing much. He dragged himself to a rocky area near a stream and eventually couldn't even stand upright anymore. He managed to camouflage himself in mud and leaves on the ground so at least he could die on his own rather than be murdered outright by one of the Careers.

Gale feels his hatred and suspicion of this boy start to fade; no one should have to die like this. And the kid did save Katniss from that monster from District 2. Gale thinks he wouldn't even mind if the sponsorship the Seam contributed to was used to partially alleviate Peeta's suffering. But then he reminds himself that there can be only one victor and that as long as Peeta is alive, he could still turn on Katniss and win at the end.

It seems unlikely, though.

Katniss is in the process making friends, and likely an alliance, with the little girl from District 11. When the camera shifts to other tributes, Gale tells Prim that Katniss will take care of the other girl.

"She seems nice. I'm glad they have each other."

Gale smiles at Prim, not wanting to ruin the comfort she's feeling with a reminder of the inevitable trauma of one of them dying (or worse, having to kill the other). The competitors need some moments of light amongst the darkness, even if it's only temporary.

Mrs. Everdeen returns to the main room with a book of sketches and flips to the page with the plant she'd been talking about earlier. She's trying to explain to Gale where it grows when there's a knock at the door.

Prim opens it, revealing the baker, Peeta's father. "Hello, Mr. Mellark," she says shyly.

Mrs. Everdeen rises. "Wheaton. Please come in." She holds out a chair.

The baker shakes his head. "I can't stay. I… wanted to drop this off." He sets a large loaf of nut bread on the table, and smiles softly as he pats Prim on the head.

"Thank you," Prim says, smiling in return. She slips away to the ice container and retrieves a small parcel that Gale knows contains some goat cheese from Lady.

Gale also knows from Prim that the baker has been bringing them bread since Katniss left - Prim gives Gale some to take home to his family in exchange for the game and herbs he brings over. But he didn't know the baker was delivering the bread personally.

The baker looks at Gale. "Caught any squirrels lately?"

Gale shifts uncomfortably, realizing he hasn't made any effort to trade directly with the baker since the Games started, partly because he hasn't had as much time between hunting for both families and keeping up with what's happening to Katniss in the arena, but mostly because he hasn't trusted himself to be civil to the baker in light of Peeta's apparent betrayal of Katniss. But now it seems like Peeta didn't betray Katniss and will die alone in the mud in a matter of days and this poor man shouldn't have to watch that. No one should.

"Katniss is the better squirrel catcher," Gale says. "There have been more rabbits lately. But I can keep my eyes open."

The baker nods. "Appreciate it."

He's starting to leave when the television screen flashes to Peeta lying in the mud. The announcer starts summarizing Peeta's last few days, interspersing footage of the opening ceremony and interviews, since his body is barely recognizable in the mud and leaves and not much to look at for the viewers. The narrators are really playing up Peeta as a lovesick, noble boy from a backwards district, and replay the scene of him yelling at Katniss to run away while he stays and fights Cato. Then there's a sequence of Peeta being wounded, passing out from the blood loss and tracker jacker venom, and then briefly coming to and dragging himself to his current resting place. Which may well be his final resting place.

Gale watches the baker watch the Peeta montage, and when the man's face looks like it's going to crumple Gale averts his eyes to give him privacy.

He's certain that the Capitol has engineered the most extreme form of torture imaginable: forcing people to watch their children kill or become killers or both. Now that Katniss is well-positioned, Gale has space in his heart to feel for the other people hurting because of these Games. The baker has been a model citizen, raising three boys, putting up with his unpleasant wife, and keeping District 12 fed on good bread. And he's rewarded for this by having to watch his youngest son suffer to death for the entertainment of the Capitol audiences.

Gale hears Katniss' name on the television and instinctively turns to see what's happened. But the screen is still showing Peeta, and Gale slowly realizes Peeta is the one saying Katniss' name. The announcer breaks in, explaining in a melodramatic tone that Peeta is clearly delirious and barely says anything anymore other than Katniss' name and that he's sorry. Gale stands up and turns off the volume on the television. None of them needs to hear this.

Mrs. Everdeen looks like she's about to start crying. She grasps Mr. Mellark's hands and thanks him again for the bread. She invites him to stay and sit with them, but he declines again and quickly exits.

Gale doesn't know what to do with himself when the baker leaves. Mrs. Everdeen sits at the table and starts crying in earnest. Prim rushes to hug her and Gale stands there awkwardly watching for a few minutes and then says he'll bring the herbs tomorrow and leaves. At his own house he watches the broadcast until Katniss and Rue go to sleep in the tree and only then does he let himself fall off too.

* * *

The next two days of the Games are dramatic, with Katniss and Rue going on the offensive by eliminating the Careers' supplies. Gale is energized watching Katniss think strategically about how to win and making it happen. Now that she has the bow and arrow and has weakened her enemies, she looks stronger than ever. He doesn't even get that anxious when she's hurt by the explosion - once he figures out she's coherent enough to take care of herself by hiding adequately. He starts to feel like she'll really come back to him.

And then Rue is killed. Katniss' fierce elimination of Rue's killer doesn't surprise Gale, although it's hard to watch. She'll be harder and more damaged when she comes back… but he still thinks she'll come back. Katniss can handle the pressure, and with her bow and arrow she can eliminate all the rest of the tributes without getting close enough to endanger herself. He keeps telling himself: she can make it.

* * *

Gale makes a point of catching a couple of squirrels for the baker. Peeta is still alive, although Gale doesn't see how… He's not eating or drinking anything, just lying in the mud slowly dying. A couple of squirrels are the least Gale can do. The baker appreciates the gesture and gives him a cheese bread in return.

As Gale is exiting the bakery, he sees Madge across the town square. He calls out to her and walks over, unsure of exactly what he wants to say. He grudgingly appreciates her dedication to the notion of fairness with the collection they took up: it was for both of the District 12 tributes, not one over the other. The people in town know Peeta better - have watched him grow up - but also admire Katniss. And the people from the Seam couldn't give as much quantitatively as the people from Town, but they gave at such proportions in comparison to their assets that their gifts were probably even more generous.

"Hey," she says when he's closer. "Haymitch hasn't used our money yet."

"OK." They're standing in the town square, in part of the area not occupied by the huge screen and chairs. Madge is eyeing Gale suspiciously - he supposes he was a little volatile during their last conversation. "Look. You were right. The money was from all of District 12. You stuck with the principle…"

Madge raises her eyebrows but stays silent.

Gale continues. "I just… She needs to come back." He's so quiet he wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't hear him.

She does, though, and nods sympathetically. "I want her to come back, too. And Peeta. Neither of them should be put through this." She's speaking quietly because these are dangerous sentiments to be expressing, but she seems to have no doubts that Gale shares them.

It occurs to Gale that Madge may feel about Peeta the way he feels about Katniss. Or at least similarly… He doesn't know much about either of them, having written them both off as privileged townies.

"I'm sorry if I haven't been very understanding of you also wanting to save him… It's just, well, he seemed like he wanted to kill her." And now Gale knows that Peeta has been authentic with everyone except the Careers. The delirious utterances of the dying don't lie. And Gale understands - too easily - how Peeta could have been taken with Katniss. The level of his devotion is a bit surprising, but maybe fighting for your life amplifies everything.

"We were playmates growing up," Madge says. "Not as much friends anymore so I wouldn't say I even know him very well. Or that I'll get a chance in the future." She looks up at Gale. "But Katniss is my only real friend... It's awful that it can only be one of them who returns, and that's only if we're lucky."

Gale nods, leaving unspoken that it's not a tough choice for him. He suspects Madge would choose Katniss as well but doesn't want to say it aloud. It's sick to even have to think these types of things.

"Have you been watching the interviews with the spectators?" Madge asks.

Gale is surprised by the question; does she honestly think he cares about anything other than whatever Katniss is doing? He watches the bare minimum of the Games to see what's happening to Katniss. Seeing how the bloodthirsty crowds in the Capitol are reacting to each death and development is the last thing Gale could tolerate.

"Not if I can help it."

"They're getting interesting," Madge says. A little cryptically, Gale thinks. He looks quizzically at her so she continues, still in a lowered voice. "The crowds are eating up the tragic love story. It's new and different: no tribute has ever declared his love and sacrificed himself to save another tribute before. They can't get enough of it."

Gale hadn't realized the crowds were so rabid for Peeta's storyline; he thought the Gamemakers kept showing flashbacks of his interview because it was more interesting than Peeta lying in the mud. "Great. They get some cracking new entertainment. I'm so glad for them."

"No, that's not my point," Madge corrects. "The spectators seem _upset_ about it. They don't like to see Peeta dying by himself in the mud. You can feel the anger when you watch the interviews."

Madge's eyes are bright and Gale finally understands what she's trying to say: that the Capitol spectators may actually turn against the Games because of this. That there may be some hope or some good to come out of the awfulness of Peeta's imminent death. He looks back at Madge in a new light; he never would have guessed that she had this rebellious streak in her. Good little daughter of the mayor…

"I'll be sure to watch some myself," he says. But before he can ask anything else, one of his classmates ambles over and asks if he's walking back to the Seam. Gale says good night to Madge and heads back to his family to share the cheese bread.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Soon everything changes: the Gamemakers announce the unprecedented rule revision allowing two people from one district to be victors.

Gale thinks about what Madge had been saying about the interviews with spectators… If the Gamemakers will alter the rules midway through a game in response to crowd reaction, maybe there's a chance to turn the audience against the Hunger Games. He has no idea how that could be accomplished, but the glimmer of hope gives him something to think about as he hunts the next day.

He also wonders about Katniss' reaction to the news. Hearing her shout Peeta's name from the tree struck something in his gut that he couldn't describe. When she finally found Peeta buried in the mud, Gale was surprised to hear how familiar they were with one another: joking, referencing past conversations. It's hard to understand how they could be friends if they thought they'd have to kill each other in the Games…

Gale feels disoriented to not know exactly what Katniss is thinking. Clearly she's happy about the alliance - despite Peeta being a liability rather than an asset at this point - and is doing her best to get him healed. Peeta's fever and infection leave him utterly uninhibited; when he's awake, he watches her like a lovesick fool and Gale can see it's no act, but he's not sure what Katniss thinks. She's always determinedly ignored the possibility of males being interested in her, focused only on the survival of her family. Peeta wasn't exaggerating when he said during his interview that there were lots of boys in District 12 with their eye on Katniss. Gale spends a lot of his energy glaring at them to be sure they stay away. And most do. Until they're summoned to the Capitol to die for the entertainment of the masses and have nothing left to lose…

When Katniss kisses Peeta to get him to stop talking about dying in the arena, Gale almost falls off his chair. Did she really just do that? Is she playing along for the game or…? Since when did Katniss know how to kiss? Who has she been kissing? He'd like to think he'd know if she'd been kissing anyone in District 12.

They get some broth from a sponsor, which Gale interprets as indicating that the Capitol really is rabid for this love story - there must be sponsors galore whose interest is contingent on this storyline. He suddenly feels like the District 12 collection is pitiful in comparison. Gale also feels decidedly disapproving of them sleeping in the same sleeping bag. Yes, there's only one and they need to keep warm - he just doesn't want to see it. But the Capitol crowds do, so the broadcast pretty much becomes the Katniss and Peeta Tragic Love Story in a Cave show, complete with the imminent death of one of the lovers.

The day after Katniss finds Peeta, even more interviewers descend on District 12. Some had already arrived for the interviews with the families of the final eight tributes, but the love story is increasing the interest level.

Gale discovers this on his way to school, when Madge grabs him before he enters the building.

"Hey, watch it!"

Madge keeps a firm grip on his sleeve and pulls him to a tree away from the entrance. "You're Katniss' cousin. When the reporters ask. We need to spread the word."

"I'm not her cousin," Gale says. "We're not related."

"I'm not kidding around, Gale," Madge says. He realizes it's the first time she's ever said his name and it catches his attention. "Everyone knows she spends all her time with you, and no one is going to buy for a second that you're a non-threatening 'only friends' type of friend. You could undermine the love story, which is the only thing keeping both of them alive."

"No, _Katniss_ is what's keeping them alive," Gale corrects. But he knows it's true: they're just playthings of the Capitol when they're in that arena, and if the Capitol audience wants to see them play at being in love and that allows them to both survive, then that's really the end of the story. Katniss could survive and possibly even win on her own, but she'd be stronger with Mellark on her side - assuming he recovers - and besides, she clearly doesn't detest the guy. At a minimum they're friends (Gale won't allow himself to contemplate anything beyond simple friendship) and Katniss could never live with herself if she let him down at this point. He can see that already in her dedication to helping him recover from his injuries and get his strength back.

Madge watches Gale with narrowed eyes but doesn't say anything, waiting for him to reach the same conclusion on his own. "Fine," he concedes. "We're cousins."

"They might ask to interview you," Madge warns.

"No," Gale says, shaking his head. "I'm not doing any interviews."

"Well. That's actually probably a good idea. Low profile… And then I don't have to worry about you hitting one of the reporters." She smirks and he knows she's teasing, but he's not in the mood. Honestly, he probably would end up punching one of them. "Can you go talk to your _aunt_?" Madge asks. "And the rest of your family, so they know?" She offers to spread the word at school and in town, and Gale can't figure out if he should be grateful or not.

* * *

That afternoon, the Mellark and Everdeen families are interviewed again in the town square on a stage. The rule change is the official reason they're forced to participate in the interviews, but the love story is the real motivator.

Mrs. Everdeen doesn't say much other than that she loves her daughter and hopes to see her again soon. She claims to have no idea how Katniss became so skilled with a bow and arrow, and speculates that the Training Center in the Capitol must be really impressive. Prim tells a few stories about how Katniss always looks out for her, and answers questions about her goat.

On the Mellark side, Peeta's brothers and mother do most of the talking. No matter the question, his brothers manage steer their answers back to talking about Peeta's fighting skills, which they take credit for as his childhood tormentors. They deflect any emotionally probing questions, and the baker just shrugs in response to most questions, so Mrs. Mellark jumps in frequently. Gale bristles when she acts like she's looking forward to spending more time with Katniss if they "should be so blessed" to have both Peeta and Katniss return to District 12. Gale's heard her refer to him and Katniss as Seam Scum too many times for him to even approach giving this woman the benefit of the doubt. Of course, Katniss will be a Victor if she returns, wealthier than even the Mellarks…

With the formal interviews over, reporters seeking the inside story from other townspeople start probing for more salacious news. Word has spread that Gale spends a lot of time with Katniss and several reporters try to get him to talk, but he refuses. Madge takes some of the heat off him by agreeing to be interviewed, but the reporters lose interest when she doesn't share any juicy stories. They don't leave District 12 yet, though.

Katniss and Peeta dominate the broadcasts. The other tributes are suffering from various degrees of starvation or exposure, and Katniss and Peeta are a cozy contrast, teasing, snuggling, and talking, all the while sustaining dramatic tension as Peeta's condition worsens and they discover that he has blood poisoning. At some point the broadcast becomes at least partially devoted to the ongoing reactions and analyses of the Capitol spectators.

That evening, a "feast" is announced and it becomes obvious that Katniss intends to attend despite Peeta's protests. As much as he hates to admit it, Gale agrees it's the right thing to do because Peeta clearly won't last much longer and Katniss could never live with herself if she didn't attempt to save him. It doesn't stop Gale from being bitter about the risk, though. He tries to get mad at Peeta, but can't manage it since he knows Peeta's injury was a direct result of rescuing Katniss after the tracker jacker attack and because Peeta is doing everything in his limited power to stop her from going.

Gale and the Everdeens stay up all night after the announcement, Katniss' trick with the sugar syrup, and her vigil at the Cornucopia. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim can't watch when Katniss makes her run for the mini-backpack at the Cornucopia, so Gale watches for them and tells them when it's OK to uncover their eyes, that Thresh has let Katniss go because of her kindness to Rue.

Prim starts crying and Mrs. Everdeen puts her to bed, returning long enough to watch Katniss stumble back into the cave, inject Peeta with the medicine, and then pass out.

Since both Katniss and Peeta are both unconscious, the broadcast moves to the other tributes. The redheaded girl from District 5 rejoices in the food and sleeping bag that were in her backpack, which isn't very interesting in comparison to Cato's pursuit of Thresh, who stole Cato's backpack.

Mrs. Everdeen and Gale stare blankly at the television's reports about the other tributes, waiting numbly for word that Katniss or Peeta have either died from their wounds or started to recover. They make no move to eat or even drink tea, and after a few hours Prim wakes up to join their vigil. One of the unauthorized reporters knocks on the door, but Gale sends her away saying it's family time and they don't want to be disturbed.

Finally Peeta wakes up, disoriented initially and then quickly focusing on cleaning Katniss' head wound and getting her warmed up. She makes some noises that indicate brain activity if not full consciousness, and only then do Gale and the Everdeens dare to take their eyes away from the television screens. Mrs. Everdeen makes some tea and Gale leaves to go check on his own family.

* * *

The next day is quiet initially as far as Katniss' appearances onscreen, since she's still sleeping. Gale goes to school because there are no other urgent demands on his time, and does some hunting and trading in the afternoon.

He hears from others that Katniss woke up briefly, seemed upset, and then fell back asleep. He decides to watch the recap of it, fairly confident they'll show the entirety of her waking time since there's so little else going on in the arena.

Gale is glad he elects to watch the recap at the end of the night from his own house, first because it upsets him to see Katniss having a hard time processing the deaths of Rue and describing Thresh releasing her. If she does survive - and that's looking more and more likely, especially now that she and Peeta are allied together and regaining their strength - then she's going to have a hard time adjusting back to normal life.

Second, even though a few minutes of the recap show Thresh and Cato stalking one another in the rain without much success, most of the rest of it is focused on Katniss and Peeta, both awake and finishing up their remaining food, and talking about the Games, doing too much snuggling and kissing for Gale's comfort.

If you didn't know they were fighting for their lives in a battle to the death, you might think you'd stumbled upon a movie about romances in a cave. Katniss still has a nasty gash on her forehead and Peeta hobbles when he moves around the cave to get Katniss food, but there's no question that they're healing. They certainly seem to be able to devote more energy than before to their sappy romance.

Sometimes when Gale is hunting, he'll corner an animal that doesn't realize the danger it faces from his approach and will just stare stupidly at him while he captures and kills it. He is that animal now, unable to turn away from the television despite the knowledge that he's torturing himself. It's different than when Katniss could die at any second; he can't bear to lose the last few seconds he may ever see of her alive. Now, she's in no immediate danger of losing her life, but it still feels like she's about to go missing.

It occurs to him that this is an act, that she's highly cognizant of the audience's interest in the love story and gamely playing along with it because it's the only way to ensure that she and Peeta both survive. But Gale can't tell for sure. (No question Mellark isn't acting at anything. His dying utterances were proof enough, and now it's clear that he thinks even if he dies he'll have enjoyed his last few days of living.)

Gale feels sick, both from what he sees on the screen and from the feeling that these scenes are a gross violation of privacy, which in turn is a joke because if you don't even have a right to live how can you claim any privacy privileges? His best hope is that the other remaining tributes will kill one another off, and that the Hunger Games will be over sooner rather than later.


	6. Chapter 6

6

The broadcast is dominated the next day by Thresh and Cato's final battle. The rain finally flooded Thresh out of his gully and Cato spends the afternoon chasing him and launching attack after attack. The Gamemakers must be thrilled to have such a dramatic showdown; Gale is more focused on the fact that it means they won't be bothering Katniss. He is disappointed when Thresh dies, though, because he doesn't want Katniss to have to deal with someone as vicious and unhinged as Cato. Especially now that Cato has recovered the backpack with the full body armor - the announcers make sure all the viewers realize that Katniss' arrows won't be able to pierce the armor. But for now, Cato is struggling to manage his injuries and Gale is cautiously pleased to see how severely he's still bleeding. Maybe if Katniss can drag herself away from Peeta and the cave, she could strike while Cato is weak…

Gale walks into town to trade for some cloth for his mother - Posy has long outgrown her dress and needs a new one - but he's distinctly uncomfortable. He feels like everyone in District 12 is staring at him and feeling sorry for him. If it's common knowledge that he's enough of a threat to the 'tragic love story' to need to be characterized as Katniss' relative, the flip side is that it's also common knowledge that Katniss appears to have moved on from him. Or at least that's how it looks; it's of course impossible to confirm anything and she's still fighting for her life. But it's enough to make him uneasy in town.

When he gets home, his mother is teaching Posy how to stir rabbit stew, and Vick and Rory are watching the broadcast while pretending to do their homework.

"What's going on?" Gale asks, putting the package of cloth on the table.

Vick makes a face. "Still raining in the arena. Katniss is being really boring but they keep showing her."

Rory stands up and snaps off the television. "Yeah, it's pretty dull. Wanna play cinder ball outside instead? We still have some daylight."

Gale turns the television back on. "I want to check what's happening."

"Come on, Gale, let's go play," Rory insists.

"Go if you want. I need to get caught up."

Mrs. Hawthorne pokes her head into the living room. "Honey, maybe this is a good time to play cinder ball."

Gale is suspicious now and is about to ask why she cares so much if he's out playing games when he hears Katniss on the TV. Hears Katniss laughing, more precisely. Katniss so rarely laughs - he's only ever heard her that carefree when they've been in the woods - it catches him off guard.

On screen, she and Peeta are curled up together in the sleeping bag, talking and laughing while the firelight flickers along the wall. Peeta seems to ignore the cameras most of the time and says some things about his family they probably don't want to hear let alone have broadcast to the entire country, but Katniss seems to cycle between forgetting the cameras are there and reluctantly acknowledging that she has zero privacy.

Gale can't keep himself from the torture of watching, telling himself he's searching for clues about the authenticity of her actions but wondering if he just wants to ensure he's suffering in some way for not actually being in the arena.

He gets his wish: a clue so obvious it's as if she was speaking directly to him. Only it's not the result he wants because Katniss explicitly rejects him. "_You don't have much competition anywhere_."

Gale can feel his family's eyes on him, can sense their concern. It's suffocating and he can't be in the house any longer. He doesn't even make an excuse for why he's leaving - why bother? - and walks to the fence, Katniss' words echoing in his head with each step. He's so distracted he almost doesn't realize that the damn fence is inexplicably electrified tonight, leaving Gale feeling even more trapped.

He doesn't even know where he's going until he ends up at Ripper's shack. The TV is droning in the background and Gale catches a glimpse of Katniss and Peeta laughing and feeding each other spoonfuls of what looks like stew.

Ripper takes one look at him, shuts off the television and pours him a glass of white liquor, patting his back sympathetically. Then they each have another glass and make sarcastic toasts to the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Unfortunately for Gale, Ripper had an earlier start and passes out after an hour, so Gale puts her on the mat on the floor that passes for a bed and then stumbles outside.

He's can't conceive of turning up in this condition at home so he wanders toward the town square. He walks toward the large screen, feeling like a moth flying toward a light even if it's a trap. The evening recap has started, and quite a crowd is watching from the chairs. If he were someone else and didn't feel the way he does, he might even acknowledge the pleasantness of the evening.

While he's standing in the grassy zone behind the seats in the grass, he starts to feels dizzy from the alcohol and abruptly sits. On the grass. Which is not allowed, according to the "Stay off the grass" signs strewn every 3 feet. A Peacekeeper will probably come along and prod him to leave any minute now but Gale doesn't care. In fact, he'd love to have an opportunity to lash out at someone in righteous anger because the Peacekeepers are part of the problem, aren't they? Nobody would be scared to act out if there wasn't someone else in one of those awful white suits standing nearby with a loaded gun.

But maybe he'll sit facing away from the screen so he doesn't have to have his heart trampled quite so directly. He shifts positions and finds himself staring at the bakery, which isn't much better so he swivels again and looks at the butcher's storefront. Safer.

In his deadened state doesn't notice someone sit down next to him until he feels the whoosh of displaced air. It's Madge, her skirt haphazardly strewn on the grass next to him. She nods toward the screen. "Did you see the feast? Our gift helped pay for that."

Through his haze, Gale recalls a large basket of food being delivered to Katniss and Peeta right after she so publicly and unequivocally rejected him. _You don't have much competition anywhere_. "Great," he says woodenly. "It really was a joint gift, then. Maybe we can all chip in for a wedding present."

"They still might not make it out alive," Madge scolds.

Gale puts his head between his knees and studies the grass. He adds to the ever-growing list of Things the Capitol Stole from him: the right to feel heartache when the situation justifies it. This ache in his chest is a different kind of pain than what he feels as he watches Katniss outrun fireballs, get her leg nearly burned off, or face off against a psychotic Career tribute. It feels petty to indulge in this kind of self-pity when Katniss is facing death, but the ache will not be ignored. And the alcohol seems to have impaired his ability to push it down. "Madge," he says, still staring at the green blades. "Leave me alone."

All things considered, Gale foggily thinks that his bout of self-pity is conveniently timed: he won't feel as guilty about wallowing while Katniss isn't facing any readily apparent danger. He hears Katniss and Peeta laughing again, joking about Haymitch and living in houses in the Victor's Village. Spectacular. At least all the lovey dovey garbage will be out of his sight. They can enjoy their lives of leisure and wealth together and lord it over everyone else while eating ice cream and beef every night.

He feels a warm pressure on his arm and realizes Madge is gently patting him. It's surprisingly unobtrusive and comforting. He isn't used to anyone touching him lately other than his mother and Posy, both of whom are huggers. Katniss certainly isn't, although he's used to being in very close proximity to her when they're waiting silently in a blind for prey.

Then he feels Madge clamp onto his arm more tightly, as though she's alarmed. He blearily raises his head and sees that she's watching two men in white Peacekeeper suits approach, probably to tell them to go sit in the formal seating area. Like it's such a high crime to sit on the stupid grass when there's ritualized murder being broadcast by the government for entertainment.

Gale is ready to leap up and tell them off, but Madge stands first and says they were looking for her earring but just found it, isn't that lucky? Before Gale knows what's happened, she's pulling him by the arm off the field. He still isn't walking very steadily and is glad to not have to think about where he's going.

They arrive at the back porch of the mayor's house - the side facing away from the town square - and sit on the steps. Madge tells him to wait a second, and then vanishes inside while he mulls over how many times he and Katniss have stood on these very steps selling their forage to Madge or the mayor. Madge returns with a glass of water, which Gale accepts gratefully.

"My father says water helps soak up the alcohol," she says.

Gale thinks this sounds ridiculous - how can water 'soak up' another liquid, is the mayor more stupid than he thought? - but it's a thoughtful gesture so he bites back his comment. Come to think of it, why is she being thoughtful? Why is she helping him? He's certainly not friends with the mayor's prissy daughter. He's pretty sure he's not even civil to her most of the time.

"You don't need to babysit me," he finally says, unsteadily setting the glass on the step. "I'm fine."

She watches as he has to concentrate to keep the glass upright. "What's your hurry? Do your wallowing here." She gestures to the porch. "This is a wallowing friendly zone."

He's never sure if she's making fun of him. He decides she is and stands up. "Thanks for the water."

Gale starts down the steps, but Madge is fast and blocks him. "Come on. Stay. I could use the company."

More because the ground is rippling in strange ways than because of anything Madge has said, Gale sits back down on the porch. He'll sit here, but he's not going to be charming company. He's actually not sure he could put words into coherent sentences. If he even felt like talking, which he doesn't.

Madge lets them sit in silence for a few minutes. Gale can hear the broadcast on the town square on the other side of Madge's house, but he feels insulated from it here, looking out into the Undersees' back yard at the trees and flowers.

"It's harder than people realize to be the one left behind," she says out of nowhere.

Gale internally agrees; it's _excruciating_ to not be able to do anything helpful, to be stuck watching a screen. He feels beyond useless most of the time. Extraneous, lately. Replaceable.

"I liked working on the collection because it was something to do," she adds, unconcerned that he's not participating in the conversation. "But I can't think of what else to do for them. I know you and Peeta's father are helping her mom and sister with meals… I don't have any useful resources or skills, though."

Gale eyes her skeptically; her house is easily the largest in District 12 and surely her family wants for nothing.

"My parents keep a close watch on the pantry and the purse," she says, apparently guessing his thoughts. "I exhausted my own funds in the collection." She fiddles with the hem on her skirt and Gale wonders just what percentage of the District 12 collection was from Madge personally.

"So," she continues, looking up at him with a sly expression, "if I can keep you from fighting with the Peacekeepers and ending up in jail for the night, I figure Katniss would appreciate it."

Gale is instantly offended and tries to organize his thoughts into a proper retort, but Madge is smiling at him and he once again can't tell if she's teasing or not.

He scowls at the steps. "Joke's on you. Katniss doesn't care."

"Right," Madge says sarcastically. "Well, either way you'd be embarrassed tomorrow."

Maybe. Well, yes, probably. Getting into a drunken brawl right after being publicly tossed aside for the baker's son would probably be a little obvious. Gale shifts so he can rest his head against the railing. It's starting to feel like an impossible task to stay upright.

Madge starts talking again. "You know, I really think they're going to make it back. And then things will sort themselves out when all the excitement dies down. People act differently when they're facing death."

Gale eyes her skeptically – what does she know about facing death? - and goes back to watching the breeze rustle the leaves in the trees in Madge's backyard. He doesn't need her empty reassurances. He feels his eyelids drooping and leans his head on the railing of the porch. There's still a faint paint odor on the woods; the Undersees must have someone repaint it each summer. Heaven forbid the porch not be in absolute peak condition at all times...

* * *

Gale dreams that he's riding gusts of wind in a storm so strong he has no control over where he ends up. He's aloft and can see the trees below him, but there's no place to land, and if the wind stops he won't survive the sudden fall to the ground. There's no way out - he's either in the wind or falling…

When he opens his eyes he doesn't recognize his surroundings and thinks for a moment he fell asleep in the woods. But he's laying on something that's rocking gently - a porch swing. He's on the mayor's back porch… He sits up and a blanket slides off his shoulders. He doesn't know what time it is, but it's pitch dark out and he can no longer hear the broadcast of the Games booming from the town square on the other side of the house, so it's probably the middle of the night. His mother is probably worried… He remembers talking with Madge on the steps and dozing off, but doesn't recall there even being a porch swing on the porch. He feels more clear-headed than before and tentatively stands up. No more spinning; that's a good sign. He folds the blanket and leaves it on the swing. How did he even end up at the mayor's house? Oh, right: Madge thought she was saving him from causing a scene in the town square. He did want to do something - yell, punch, rage, anything. It all sounded so satisfying.

He isn't sure who he's mad at exactly. Katniss for discarding and humiliating him in front of everyone. Peeta for being such a sap and not being able to keep his hands (or lips) to himself. Everyone associated with the Games for allowing the travesty to happen year after year. Especially Mayor Undersee, for being a weak-willed pawn and yet being rewarded with this huge house and beautiful yard. And the mayor's daughter for - well, he can't think of anything right now. No, wait: pitying him and thinking he's weak and that she needs to save him from himself. He knew he had reasons to not like her. Thankfully she's nowhere to be seen now, though, so Gale won't need to feel rude for not saying good-bye and making his way back home through the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Gale stoically watches the broadcast the next morning with his family, suffering through the fuzzy feeling in his head and a sour stomach. He's determined not to hide from the awfulness. It's surreal in a way, like he's being forced to watch one of those unbearable melodramas his mother indulges in occasionally. Katniss and Peeta sure don't seem like people facing mortal danger: they're joking about their poor table manners and general griminess, flirting, kissing, and generally being complete jerks. At least Gale thinks they're jerks; the interviews with Capitol spectators reveal that the Capitol audiences can't get enough of the light-heartedness. Analysts are reporting that Katniss and Peeta have edged out the lead couple in a highly watched Capitol soap opera as the most popular pair on television.

Nothing interesting is happening with the remaining tributes: the red-haired girl's strategy is clearly just to outlast everyone else and Cato is still nursing his injuries. So the cameras stay on Katniss and Peeta, who decide to go hunting. Gale steels himself for an onslaught of memories of happier times when he and Katniss could hunt together. It's almost as if the Gamemakers know exactly how to target and torture him, Gale Hawthorne of District 12, specifically.

But once Katniss and Peeta leave their cave, Gale realizes what a disaster their trip is going to be. Peeta is a hunting nightmare - noisy, injured, and utterly lacking any useful skills. Gale actually laughs out loud when he sees how irritated Katniss is getting. She's terrible at hiding it, too, and makes condescending suggestions to Peeta, who amazingly doesn't take offense and just teases her in return. Ironically, Peeta actually seems to be more worried about her than his own vulnerability. Gale knows he's being petty to enjoy seeing Katniss scowling, but there's no threat to them at the moment - just the red-haired girl trailing them with the hope of stealing some food - so he allows himself the pettiness.

When it's clear that nothing interesting is going to happen beyond half of the happy couple being irritated (justifiably, in Gale's mind), Gale slips off to do some of his own hunting and foraging. The universe must feel like it owes him something for the previous day's torment, because his snares are full and he successfully shoots two pheasants.

The sun shines cheerfully, and Gale takes a moment to sit on a rock - not their rock - and rest. He feels off somehow, and finally identifies the sensation as loneliness. It seems more and more likely that Katniss will survive this ordeal, and if she does (please), she'll be living in the Victor's Village and won't need to hunt anymore. No matter what the outcome of the Games, she's gone. She'll either die or be so wealthy she won't need to hunt to feed her family. They won't have anything in common anymore, so maybe it's just as well that she's already forgotten about him. Fine. At least she'll probably survive.

* * *

School is canceled the next day and most of District 12 stops working in order to watch the Games broadcast. The red-haired girl died the previous night after eating nightlock berries Peeta picked in ignorance and the announcers have described the Gamemakers' plans to lure the final three contestants back to the Cornucopia for a final showdown. While Katniss and Peeta are hiking, Cato is attempting to set a trap for them by freeing the muttations that had been hidden in the area near Thresh's hideout. The Games will be over in a matter of hours.

Gale wishes he could take back every uncharitable thought he's had about Katniss and Peeta in the past few days. There's no way they can defeat Cato, who has body armor and mutts on his side. Katniss only has a few arrows left and Peeta's still seriously injured. Gale suspects the Gamemakers have purposefully rigged the showdown to ensure Cato wins; that way, the tragedy of the "love story" will be complete and only a single victor will emerge like usual. It makes no difference that Katniss and Peeta have an alliance - Cato has far superior defensive and offensive weapons at this point.

Once Gale does the calculations on their poor odds of survival, he walks straight to the Everdeen home to watch the end with Katniss' family. Katniss may not like him anymore, but Prim and Mrs. Everdeen still depend on him. He knows they won't be able to watch Katniss be torn apart by those monsters. He doesn't think he can handle it either, but wants to spare them whatever horrors he can.

None of them say anything about his conspicuous absence for the past few days. Gale rationalizes in his head that most of the time it didn't seem like Katniss was in danger so they didn't need the additional moral support and it just would have been uncomfortable for everyone to watch the cave scenes together. He doesn't like to think they might guess he was feeling sorry for himself and drinking himself into a stupor. Or sleeping it off on the mayor's porch swing.

The Everdeens and Gale watch Katniss and Peeta listlessly drink water from the lake and await their own slaughtering. When Katniss entices the mockingjays into singing Rue's song, Prim starts sobbing softly. The filmmakers intercut footage of Katniss singing with Cato's preparations donning the body armor and releasing the mutts. It's all very manufactured and melodramatic, leaving Gale once again pondering how the Gamemakers can keep coming up with new ways for him to hate them.

Unfortunately for Cato, the mutts have their own agenda and immediately attack him. When he leads them toward Katniss and Peeta, Prim screams and Mrs. Everdeen puts her head in her hands. Katniss and Peeta survive, though, and take refuge with Cato on the Cornucopia. After a close call with Cato threatening Peeta, Katniss shoots an arrow at Cato, sending him into the waiting jaws of the mutts.

"It's over," Gale whispers incredulously. Then he starts to believe it. "They've won!" He stands up and looks over at Mrs. Everdeen and Prim, who stare back numbly.

Only it's not over yet: Cato's body armor is protecting him so well the mutts can't actually kill him. And so begins an excruciating night. Gale turns off the volume on the television so they don't have to hear Cato's screams, and from the visual it's obvious that Katniss and Peeta wish they could do the same, but of course they're trapped, freezing and without medical supplies.

It's awful and cruel, especially since Peeta may technically die from blood loss before the mutts finish off Cato. As irritated as Gale is at Peeta's intrusion into Gale's own life, the kid cannot die NOW. Katniss looks like she'll pull through, and at least outlast the boys.

The Everdeens and Gale sit in the darkened room and try not to look at the silent screen, waiting for whatever will happen to happen. Finally, Katniss, wearing the stony expression Gale recognizes whenever they come across a mortally injured deer in the forest, ends the horror by shooting Cato in the face. She doesn't appear to be exuberant afterward, even as the cannons shoot, officially marking the moment of Cato's expiration and thus, Katniss and Peeta's joint victory.

But no hovercraft appears, and Gale can't actually say he's surprised when the Gamemakers announce a reversal of the previous rule change, meaning that now there can only be one winner. It's exactly the kind of sick, demented twist that only these sorry excuses for humanity could come up with. Mrs. Everdeen gasps in shock at the announcement, but Gale is focused on how quickly Katniss trains her bow and arrow on Peeta - _that's_ the Katniss he knows. Peeta discards his weapon and starts asking Katniss to finish him off. Gale hates him a little bit for being a martyr and not fighting, but he's simultaneously grateful. Gale wonders what he would do in the same situation... He could never kill Katniss. Out of the question. So he guesses he would also die instead. Gale, however, would NOT make a soppy speech and would just do it himself before Katniss had a chance to try to stop him.

But Katniss is different. All of a sudden she's handing Peeta the nightlock berries and instructing him to take them at the same time she does. Gale can't believe it - they're going to commit suicide together! He instinctively yells in protest and stares numbly at the last few seconds of Katniss he'll ever see, feeling dizzy… How can both of them dying be better than one of them (as long as it's not her)? Isn't this worse? They were so close to coming home!

Suddenly the announcer's voice is breaking in, announcing that both Katniss and Peeta are victors. They instantly spit out the berries, try to rinse out their mouths, and fall into one another in relief. In that moment, Gale sees the brilliance of the nightlock plan. Whatever sense of betrayal he's felt lately from Katniss, he absolutely loves her in this second for saving herself, saving Peeta, and throwing it in the Capitol's face all at once. She's a hero; she's his hero, that's for sure. He lets out a huge whoop and picks up the shocked Prim to twirl her around. Then Mrs. Everdeen is hugging both of them and crying so hard she's not making any sounds.

Gale hears shouts of joy from the neighboring houses, and soon people are streaming into the streets of the Seam and bursting into the Everdeens' home to give them congratulatory hugs. He loses track of how many people say, "I knew if anyone from 12 could win, it would be Katniss Everdeen!" Gale glances back at the television screen as Katniss and Peeta are suctioned up into a hovercraft. It will be a few days before they appear in public again, so he flips off the TV and follows the crowd up to the town square where the celebration is forming.

* * *

A/N: Just one more part after this... Sorry there wasn't much new in this part - there will be in the next one. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! :)


	8. Chapter 8

8

Gale has never, ever witnessed this level of joy among the citizens of District 12. In the town square, an impromptu band strikes up a happy jig below the large screen, now being utterly ignored, the analysts' commentary irrelevant to the only fact anyone cares about: both of the District 12 tributes are coming home.

Peeta's brothers are distributing the inventory of the entire bakery - all the pastries and breads and cakes - to everyone in the square. People are dancing, people are singing, kids are chasing one another… The Peacekeepers keep telling people to get off the grassy area, but nobody listens to them. Ripper breaks out her stash and shares it with anyone within toasting distance.

It's overwhelming. Gale's mother and siblings find him and maul him in their exuberance. Rory keeps saying he knew she could do it and insists that Gale start to teach him how to hunt, too. "If I have to go next year, I want to be just as tough as Katniss." Rory sounds inspired and hopeful, but his words chill Gale. As joyful as today is, it also means they're that much closer to next year's reaping. Gale won't be eligible anymore to volunteer in Rory's place the way Katniss did for Prim…

But Gale doesn't let on how terrified he is. He just nods and says, "You got it, Roaring Lion." He looks around at the hordes of people in the square and thinks about what they could do if they all banded together at the next reaping… They do have numbers on their side. As long as the Peacekeepers and their guns could be eliminated from the equation, the residents of District 12 might be able to protect their children next year…

He slips back from the throngs to consider his idea more carefully. As he's mulling it over, he spots a blonde figure also hanging back, her arm wrapped around one of the thin trees lining the square. She's swaying in time with the music, and when he gets closer he can hear her humming quietly.

When she sees Gale, her slight smile bursts into a beaming grin and she lets go to the tree to throw her arms around him. "They did it. They really did it." Madge is talking into his shoulder but he can practically hear her smile and does hear her happy incredulity.

"They did," he laughs, feeling lighter now than he has in weeks. Months, really, if you count his newfound optimism in the possibility of District 12 unifying in defiance against the next reaping… He hugs her back and grabs her hand to lead her into the throng of dancing celebrants, where they join a fast-paced jig.

* * *

"It was quite subversive, if you think about it," Madge says later that night. It's late in the evening now and the festivities are starting to wind down. She and Gale had danced with the other celebrants for hours, and then Madge's father had come looking for her and she disappeared to help her parents with something. She turned up again later, hovering like a stray cat where Gale and some friends had been listening to Orey play his fiddle. He thinks she has a knack for worming her way into his business, but nothing bothers him right now - it's the best day he can ever recall in District 12. And maybe Madge isn't as prissy as he thought before - she got right into those dances along with everyone else and was even chatting with some of his friends before they left.

"What do you mean?" Gale is lying on his back - on the precious grass in the town square, long since trampled - relaxing and trying to recall the names of the constellations. His father had taught him some on their late night hunting trips before the accident, but the names are starting to fade… If he holds his hands in the air and squints a certain way, he can almost see his father pointing to the various formations in the night sky…

Madge is sitting next to him on the grass, rolling and unrolling a streamer someone had tossed into the air. "I mean, Katniss and Peeta. Being happy for a while, finding ways to laugh in the middle of the _Hunger Games_, of all things… The end moment with the berries, which was brilliant, was subversive of course. But even before that, they were breaking the mold. Showing that an exercise in horror doesn't have to be as horrifying as might otherwise be intended."

Gale notices she's careful with her pronouns about who exactly is to blame for the 'horrors' she's talking about. He wonders if it's a defense mechanism because she knows her father is complicit to some degree.

"I don't think they were being intentionally subversive," he says. Mellark was being a lovesick fool and Katniss to her very core will do whatever it takes to survive and protect her friends and family. Somehow the combination synergized into an unprecedented two-person Hunger Games victory. Although, Gale will forever give most of the credit to Katniss.

"That's what's so great about it," Madge sighs. Gale braces himself for a swoony declaration of how romantic it all was, but she surprises him. "They were just being themselves. They were able to retain a piece of themselves in an unreal situation… I mean, not entirely because they had to experience things they'll definitely wish they could erase. I know I wish I could erase having seen some of it."

Gale does, too. The barbaric deaths and suffering heaped on the tributes… The excessive amounts of kissing… Then it occurs to him that Madge - the m_ayor's daughter_ - is being awfully frank with him about her admiration for what she perceives to be subversion of the Capitol.

He sits up to get a better look at her expression. She's hopeful. Brighter than she has been for the past few weeks. Well, everyone is happier. Throughout the impromptu celebration, Gale felt like he was rejoining the land of the living, catching up with friends at the festival. It turned out a lot of people had felt that way, once they started talking. But he senses a certain determination in Madge's optimism that reminds him of his own spark of hope that there might be some way to end the Hunger Games.

Madge notices him inspecting her and blushes faintly. "What?"

He shrugs. "Just surprised. And wondering: do you share these thoughts with certain members of your family?"

Whatever happiness he'd spotted earlier drains. "Of course not," she says quietly, turning her head in the opposite direction. Gale is distracted from responding by the smooth lines of her neck and the low collar on her dress. Her skin is probably even softer than the worn leather on his hunting satchel…

He quickly averts his eyes when she looks back at him. She takes a deep breath. "My mom's twin sister was a tribute. My aunt. She died well before I was born."

"Her twin? That's brutal." The Brickley twins on his block each swear they feel pain when the other does; he can't imagine those two separated for even a few minutes, much less a permanent separation brought on by something as awful as the Hunger Games.

"I think that's why she gets so many headaches. There's a piece missing from her… She… had a bad afternoon. I think she was wondering what could have happened if her sister could have survived… If there could have been two victors from District 12 that year, too."

Gale thinks about his father, permanently gone due to the mine explosion, and then about Madge's mother, who sounds like she's only partly present in her daughter's life. "I'm sorry," he says, not sure what else to say. Even after what he's gone through in the past weeks, he can't actually say he lost someone - permanently - to the Hunger Games. Katniss seems to be lost to him in other ways, but he will actually see her alive again.

Speaking in barely a whisper, Madge looks back at him with an intensity he's never seen in her before. "It needs to stop."

Gale matches the intensity of her gaze and calmly says, "I agree." He glances around to double-check nobody is within hearing distance and then takes the extra precaution of scooting even closer to her. Their faces are only inches away now and he can smell something floral - her soap or shampoo, most likely. Something expensive, no doubt, but pleasant. He leans in so he can whisper into Madge's ear and proceeds to tell her about the realization he had earlier when he saw everybody from District 12 spontaneously pouring into the town square and ignoring the Peacekeepers. "There might be a way to stop the reaping next year. I don't know what to do yet, but I plan to figure it out."

Madge shifts so she can whisper back into his ear. "I'm in. Whatever I can do. We need to end it." Gale shivers at her breath on his ear. He doesn't know if he's more affected by her proximity or by the prospect that someone else understands the urgent need to take action. He wasn't asking for her help but he realizes he wants it.

END

* * *

**A/N:** Continued in "Rebel Like You." This was essentially a prequel. Thank you everybody for reading and following and reviewing!


End file.
